Today marks the 17th anniversary of the 9/11 terrorist attacks.

APA Vice President FO Tim Hamel spoke at a morning ceremony on the union’s behalf at the 9/11 Flight Crew Memorial in Grapevine, Texas. Other APA officials and line pilots attended various observances around the country.

Our collective memories of Sept. 11, 2001, remain vivid, and they always will. Some of us lost close friends that day, and even if you didn’t personally know anyone who died, we all felt and continue to feel a deep sense of loss.

Sept. 11 will never be just another date on the calendar. It will forever serve to remind us of the worst, and the best, of human nature. The murder of nearly 3,000 men, women and children represents pure evil. Yet we also witnessed remarkable bravery, selflessness, and dignity in the face of certain death that day.

Four American Airlines pilots were killed while performing their duties: CA John Ogonowski and FO Tom McGuinness on American Airlines Flight 11, and CA Charles Burlingame and FO David Charlebois on American Airlines Flight 77. Thirteen American Airlines flight attendants were also killed. Our colleagues at United Airlines suffered similar losses with the destruction of Flight 93 and Flight 175.

We will never forget.

LGA Domicile Chairman CA Mike Burr and LGA Domicile Vice Chairman CA R Scott Heckenberger
brought flowers to the National September 11 Memorial in New York.